The Connection Between Sleep and Growth

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I'm so glad I got this article today. Just yesterday I was thinking maybe my son is sleeping too much! He sleeps full on 12hours at night with a 3hour nap during the day. He's 23months old. The whole 9hours of the day that he's awake, you cannot imagine how energetic & playful he is :) And he has an excellent appetite! I suppose I have nothing at all to worry about . . .

While these connections are true in the aggregate, they may not apply to your child. I know that I always slept considerably less than the recommended amount (from babyhood through college) and was exceptionally tall for my age (> 98th percentile in height) and excelled in school.

One thing to consider, also, is that gifted (> 95th percentile in cognitive abilities) and exceptionally gifted (> 99th percentile) kids almost universally require less sleep b/c their brains are just on overdrive. That doesn't mean that a child who needs a lot of sleep isn't bright. It just means that if your child seems to have boundless energy and continues to achieve both physically and mentally despite little sleep, then maybe it's just the way his brain & body work.

My son is 3 1/2 and for about the last 3 months started not taking naps daily and he gets 9-10 hours sleep at night. Not sure how to make him get more, if I put him to bed at night an hour earlier he will just wake up an hour earlier in the morning. He was taking 2-3 hour naps but wasn't easy to get to bed at night, he actually sleeps better at night since he stopped taking naps.

Joshua 2 yrs 9mo: my son sleeps 9 hours night, has a lot of energy from 730 till about 3 then he has to nap for 2 hours. if he does not do this he does not eat well and he is very cranky and crying all day.

If he is napping until 5:30pm, it explains why he can't fall asleep until 8:30pm, since that is only 3 hours from wake at anp to bedtime, which is the minimum I have seen recommended. But he is also waking at 5am, which is often a sign that he is overtired. Have you ever tried the nap earlier and made sure that he is awake by 3pm? That would give him ample time for activity in the afternoon to wear him out for a 7:30pm bedtime.

Should I b concerned that my two year old sleeps 8-8.5 hors at night by himself (8:30/9-5am). Then he goes back to sleep w me for another 2-3hours(7am-8am). Then he takes a 1.5 hr nap at 4pm. He won't sleep if we put him to bed earlier. We even tried just moving bedtime back 15 minutes every couple of nights, but eyes closed at 8:30 seems best for him. He's always between 50-75%ile

Should I b concerned that my two year old sleeps 8-8.5 hors at night by himself (8:30/9-5am). Then he goes back to sleep w me for another 2-3hours(7am-8am). Then he takes a 1.5 hr nap at 4pm. He won't sleep if we put him to bed earlier. We even tried just moving bedtime back 15 minutes every couple of nights, but eyes closed at 8:30 seems best for him.

My 2yo goes to sleep at 8:30 and sleeps till 5am when his daddy goes to work or wakes up to study for college depending on the day. I discovered that the birds are really loud at 5am outside his room. On the days his daddy leaves for work I let him sleep w me until 7-8am. Then he takes an 1-2 hr nap at 4. Any suggestions besides a white noise machine to help him sleeps longer?

Both of my boys have always been sleepers. We have them set up on a schedule where they get a bath, have story time and then go to bed. They are both normally in bed by 7, but are not always asleep right away. However, both get up at 6am with me and are ready to go. From parents I know who don't do a regular schedule, I have seen issues with the kids. ANywhere from not sleeping through the night to being low on the height chart. Both of my kids are in the 90 -97% for height. My oldest no longer takes naps, but my youngest sometimes will sleep for 3 hours on the weekends. They both go to preschool and only get about an hour and half nap, but between that and the 11 hours or so at night, I think we are doing well.

Hubby works days, i work nights. Son in kinder. Son in kinder goes to bed from 8 to 630. Hubby and two and 4 year olds go to bed at 1130 to 630. I come home and get everyone up at 630. I take Son and Hubby to school by 730. Me and little ones back home by 8am. But I have to sleep too! Breakfast for babies and then unfortunately, I have to put them back to bed with me....from like 10 to 2p. Then I have to get up and pick up Hubby and son. I come home, no more sleep for me. I go to work at 8p. This is the ONLY way I can schedule sleep for them but they are not sleeping enough. Too much broken sleep.

Our 27 month old has not slept more than a total of 10 - 11 hours (combined with naps) in over a year. He has never been a sleeper - from the first moment he was born, his eyes were wide open, and he stayed awake for several hours. We've tried everything, aside from drugging him, and we've resolved to the fact that he is just not a sleeper. My husband was the same way when he was a kid.

My kid has still consistently been in the 85th percentile or more with his height.

When I hear the term "stunt your growth" what I kinda believe is that it just lowers the maximum potential, Ive had sleep issues my whole life, drank nothing but soda litteraly for years and im well over 6 foot, but maybe i coulda been 7!

I cannot get my 2 yo to sleep for more than a total of 11 - 11.5 hours in a 24 hour period. He's been doing with this many hours of sleep even before he turned one. If he goes to bed 45 minutes earlier than his usual bedtime, he's up 45 minutes earlier in the morning! He's been in the 75-90th percentile for height throughout though so I'm not worried. He's also very advanced in terms of gross motor skills, fine motor skills and cognitive development. He's been working on 12-18 piece jigsaw puzzles on his own since he was 22 months old and recognises most of his alphabet and numbers 1 to 10. Some kids really do need less sleep than others. I wish he would sleep more so I can catch a break myself!

My husband works shiftwork so my little one's sleep schedule varied at times. We started to notice at his check ups that he wasn't keeping up with his curve. His doctor explained to us that the lack of continous adequete sleep was what was causing the problem. If he slept at 10 or even 11 the doctor indicated that by those hours the lack of deep sleep would not stimulate the HgH to be released. So he didn't grow. Now with that being said hieght wasn't the most we were concerned with it was the growth of internal organs, i.e. his heart, kidneys, and brain. Since then he rarely stays up until 9:30 or 10 and he has grown 4 inches since diagnosed. :)

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